In every core neighborhood, location has been identified as a central asset that adds to quality of life and convenience—and an important selling point for potential residents. Proximity to everything in Downtown Fargo, NDSU, parks, the airport, and health care facilities, as well as easy access to the rest of the Fargo-Moorhead area via I-94 and I-29 all add up to make these the most conveniently located neighborhoods in the region.

How might this asset be maintained or strengthened?

While location is widely viewed as a key asset, it’s not quite as tangible as other types of assets. And in a region where most neighborhoods are within 20 minutes of downtown Fargo, it can be easy to accept a few more minutes of travel if other qualities fail to support the benefits of a prime location.

Making the most of the location of core neighborhoods will mean making the most out of other assets.

‘Character’ has also been identified as an asset for every core neighborhood, though each neighborhood defines it a bit differently. In general, people who talk about ‘character’ in a core neighborhood are referring to one or both of the following:

• The architectural appeal and durability of older homes found in few other places in the region;

• The feel of a traditional neighborhood setting with sidewalks, trees, and homes that relate to the street with more than just a garage door.

How might this asset be maintained or strengthened?

Protecting the character of core neighborhoods is likely to require attention on a handful of fronts, including:

• Preserving the character and quality of the existing housing stock as much as possible;

• Making sure that new development or infill is sensitive to its surroundings;

• Providing public or shared elements of core neighborhoods (streets, trees, fixtures, open spaces, etc.) with proper maintenance and investment.

The trees and tree canopy in most of the core neighborhoods has been recognized during the planning process as an important contributor to neighborhood character and quality of life. Indeed, Fargo’s exceptionally well-preserved elms give the core an urban landscape that is almost unmatched in North America.

How might this asset be maintained or strengthened?

The trees in the core neighborhoods are an asset today because of the community’s careful stewardship over the past century. Continuing that tradition (and the investment that goes with it) will be necessary for this asset to endure, especially as older trees die and thoughtful replanting becomes an ever more crucial task.

Schools are seen as both physical and cultural anchors of core neighborhoods that connect people and add to a sense of place. For young families, having a good school within walking distance of home is convenient and adds to the sense of living in a traditional neighborhood. For households without kids, having a school at the heart of the neighborhood adds a sense of vibrancy and diversity.

How might this asset be maintained or strengthened?

Good facilities and good academics are a key to maintaining schools as neighborhood assets and ensuring that young families are attracted to the neighborhoods and replenish the student body. This means ensuring that core neighborhood schools are kept on par with newer facilities on the edges of Fargo so that quality of schools is not viewed as a trade-off to living in the core.

The presence of numerous parks and playgrounds, as well as the Red River corridor, all contribute to parks being viewed as important assets to a number of core neighborhoods. And when people refer to the walkability of the core, they often do so by noting the ease and safety of walking from their homes to the nearest green spaces along the traditional grid of tree-lined sidewalks.

How might this asset be maintained or strengthened?

As with any asset in the core neighborhoods, continuous investment is needed to make sure that great parks remain great parks, that spaces are well maintained, that playgrounds are updated regularly to ensure safety and functionality, and that the overall system of spaces becomes stronger with each additional investment.

An overall sense of neighborliness has been noted as a central asset to many core neighborhoods—this can mean neighbors who know each others’ names, a sense that people look out for one another, and that a collaborative spirit exists when a problem arises and needs solving.

How might this asset be maintained or strengthened?

Neighborliness can be hard to define and cultivate. But it can be encouraged by physical attributes of the core neighborhoods (porches, sidewalks, and public spaces that foster interaction), which makes the preservation of these attributes an ingredient for neighborliness. It can also be encouraged by supporting groups of neighbors who are working together to improve their part of the city (formally within a neighborhood association, or less formally in a block club).

The overall affordability of the housing stock—a function of age, size, and condition, as well other attributes of the wider housing market—is viewed as an important asset in many of the core neighborhoods. For individuals or families looking to buy their first home, or looking to access housing that comes with all of the other assets of the core, these neighborhoods offer a range of options that are harder to find elsewhere in the market.

How might this asset be maintained or strengthened?

Maintaining affordability while also improving the condition of housing and quality of life in the core neighborhoods is not something that can be done without a thoughtful, well-resourced, and region-wide strategy.

The default strategy for maintaining or expanding affordability is to simply allow disinvestment in the housing stock to persist and to limit the desirability of residential life in the core neighborhoods (thus dampening demand). But this strategy also has costs in the form of concentrated poverty, erosion of the tax base, and a range of other problems that become more expensive to solve with time.